B's Bakes: Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream

 

Is it just me or does ice cream stir up some serious flashbacks?

 

Maybe it's because it's such a seasonal delight; a nod to the sunshine filled summers of our childhood and windswept trips to the seaside with sand in hair and hair in mouth. Mushed up with jelly, at children's parties and trips to the ice cream parlours on visits to America where the toppings were more exciting than the flavour you chose!

B's Bakes: Cacao Coconut fudge with sour cherries

Chocolate, for many, is one of the hardest things to give up when trying to get your diet clean. Whether your opting to ditch the dairy or the sugar, not even the high quality brands can really hold their hands up to being guilt-free. As I began to wean myself off processed sweet treats, I found that I could no longer really justify my love of chocolate in the way that I was eating it, and I really needed to find something that gave me the cacao hit, without the guilt crash.

B's Bakes: Cranberry Cookies

I have a serious thing about cookies. 

As a confessed sweet treat addict, more often than not I tend to I let my sweet tooth reign. Yet often when I'm out for dinner I'm just not feeling it the array of lemon possets or chocolate fondants. The one thing I can never say no to, however, is a cookie or two.

B's Bakes: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Is it me or is Nutella one of those foods that have just sky-rocketed to cult status?

In the blink of an eye, it's gone from being an average chocolate spread to being some kind of instagram-able pledge of allegiance. And if you've got a personalised jar, well you can expect your likes to double for sure! As a die-hard praline fan, I appreciate a good hazelnut, I do. However, I've taken to trying to avoid foods that don't feel natural or nourishing to my body, and while it may be delicious in all it's sugar-coma inducing glory, not even I can defend that nutritional index. 

Paleo, Chocolate Truffle Protein Balls

If ever there was a way of combining a healthy post-workout snack with chocolate then I was determined to find it. And, now that I have, I am going to share it with you lovely lot.

An Evening at Teacup

Teacup is one of those absolute gems of a teashop that, come rain or shine, has people queueing out the door every single weekend. Located in the heart of Manchester's Northern Quarter, Teacup is cute and quirky without quite becoming a hipster cliché like many other places are in danger of doing these days. Although their vast collection of cakes and tea are some of the best I've ever experienced (keep reading for evidence of this) they don't just rely on their sweet treats and charm thus, therefore, excelling in all other areas of their menu too (I am still yet to find anywhere in Manchester that delivers a better Eggs Benedict). So once I discovered that Teacup were planning to begin an evening menu I grabbed my best foodie-friend Laura, and we decided to make a night of it. 

Easy Peasy, Gluten Free, Guilt Free Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday is one of those days that we all look forward to every year as it offers us the rare opportunity to openly stuff our faces free of shame and judgment. However, whilst your mouth might be screaming "hell-yeah", if you're anything like me the combination of wheat, gluten and dairy that goes into making a traditional pancake batter will leave your stomach screaming "what the hell have you just put in me woman?!"